Family of 3 (+ Peaches the pony)

This was such a fun session. Horse-obsessed Ella recently turned 2 & to celebrate, her parents planned a special afternoon at Bar-B-Ranch in Davie, with Peaches the pony... & I got to be there to document it. We had great hospitality at the ranch, which looked like an amazing place for all kinds of horse & pony riding. Ella was so excited to be there, she hopped right up onto Peaches right away, 100% comfortable with all of the animals and never stopped loving on her parents, which made my job to capture all the cuteness, pretty darn easy.Planning an activity that is special to your family is the perfect way to create natural, candid, meaningful photos. Part of my 'what to expect' conversation I have at the beginning of every session includes telling whoever is in front of my camera to just enjoy each other in every way possible & I'll just be there to capture it. This family seemed to understand my approach before even meeting, which resulted in a super fun & relaxing family afternoon (that happens to come along with a collection of photos to remember it by).[tg_masonry_gallery gallery_id="9688" layout="wide" columns="4"]

real life with baby hank & the g's | at-home family photography

Combining documentary photography & newborn photography seems like a no-brainer.  For this momma, it meant not having to leave the house, plan anything or force the older siblings to sit still for poses, all while still capturing what life was like just 3 weeks after giving birth to their newest addition. I ended up with dozens of photos of these 2 older siblings loving on their new little brother so hard that it looks like I asked them to... but nope.  All this snuggling, hugging & kissing happening was completely unprompted & judging by mom's reaction, it happens daily.  Welcome to the world, baby Hank! I think its safe to say, you're surrounded by LOTS of love already![tg_masonry_gallery gallery_id="9600" layout="wide" columns="4"]

real life with elena at menchie's | davie family photographer

What do YOU value most? What are some of your favorite moments with your children? Do you have your answers? Now imagine having professional photos of these kind of special moments that you can cherish forever.

Think of an activity you love to do with your children & I'll tag along to document it.  Maybe its when you bring your kids to get ice cream after school & they tell you all about their day... or your weekly trip to the library when they get to pick out a new book.  Maybe its getting to pass down your mom's signature cookie recipe & baking together at home... or perhaps its simply the moments before your kids go to sleep when you climb into bed with them and read a story... I can give you a million ideas, but my challenge for you is for you to identify the moments you value the most.

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one hour with family of 3 on vacation | fort lauderdale beach family photos

Can we just take a second to acknowledge that I seriously have the most beautiful clients? Like, for real. I also happen to live in a very beautiful place. And when you're visiting a beautiful place like South Florida with your family, it becomes a perfect time to capture some updated photos & document your memories here. That is exactly what this family of 3 decided to do while in town from New York & it couldn't have been a more perfect morning. I arrived to Fort Lauderdale Beach just before sunrise to meet them near their hotel & was surprised to see several people already there at such an early hour. (Now that I think about it... if Florida does stay on daylight savings time year round, this will be my very last super-early morning sunrise photo session.)  It was the first day of a "cold front" & was definitely chilly before the sun made its full appearance, but the light was gorgeous & seeing the sun rise always makes the early wake up call worth it. At just 7 months old, the youngest obviously stole the whole show - those little smiles have been killing me while working on the gallery. Here are just a few of my favorites from the session...

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one hour with extended family on vacation photos | pompano beach

When in Rome... well, in this case Pompano Beach. This extended family of 10 all came together to spend part of their holiday in a vacation rental in sunny South Florida, which was a perfect opportunity for a family photo session to document the occasion of everyone being in the same place.  And when that place happens to be the beautiful beaches of South Florida on a sunny 75-degree evening after having just left snowy, 15-degree temperatures back home... its even more reason to document it.  The setting was perfect - a beautiful beach, practically to ourselves, just steps from the Hillsboro Inlet Lighthouse.  I even got an unplanned workout in while keeping up with all 4 little ones, but its all worth it to capture those natural smiles - I had so much fun with all of them!  Hope you all enjoyed your stay here in FL! [tg_masonry_gallery gallery_id="9283" layout="wide" columns="4"]

one hour with extended family in riverwalk | fort lauderdale family photos

The holidays are all about family time & when this family knew they'd all be one place for Thanksgiving, they decided to document it... and turn it into a 40th wedding anniversary gift for the proud parents/grandparents.  The day before reading through our thankful lists & stuffed our faces with turkey, this extended family of 10 & I met at Esplanade Park in downtown Fort Lauderdale & while slowly strolling from Broward Center of the Performing Arts to the Historical Society, took advantage of the water views, the riverwalk, the docks & more.  After a long holiday-card season of mainly shooting at parks & beaches, the riverwalk area of Fort Lauderdale was such a refreshing change & worked out so well for this shoot, keeping everyone entertained (for the most part) for the whole hour.  We got creative trying to keep the youngest interested in being in front of my camera, but it wasn't until the very end, we learned the secret... she just wanted to dance. [tg_masonry_gallery gallery_id="9229" layout="wide" columns="4"]

Hollywood Beach Mini Sessions | Broward Family Photographer

This year's holiday mini session event took me back to one of my favorite little beaches in South Florida - Hollywood's North Beach Park.  I met lots of new great families & got to see some families again that have joined my mini sessions before.  Because I get a lot of repeat clients, I try to switch up the location of my events each year to provide some variety & I think the beach location worked out perfectly this year for those who joined my park event last year.  We had beautiful weather on this Saturday in mid-November... the kind of barefoot beach weather that makes a perfect holiday card to send to friends & family up north who are snowed-in & freezing (maybe a little cruel but it never stops being fun).  Thanks to everyone who joined me this year! [tg_masonry_gallery gallery_id="9183" layout="wide" columns="4"]

one hour with father & one year old son | hollywood beach photographer

Back in June, Rob's sister reached out to me from North Florida to purchase a gift card for her single-dad brother for Father's Day.  Instead of trying to beat the crazy South Florida heat in the summer to plan an outdoor session then, we waited until a little closer to the holidays & had an awesome morning beach session in Hollywood.  Sometimes my clients wake up & see clouds and maybe a small threat of rain & think it won't be a good day for photos... when in fact that makes for perfect session-weather!  I couldn't have asked for a more perfect beach morning to take some photos.  Max had just celebrated his 1 year birthday & was all smiles for his time in the spotlight with dad.  It was great to see the bond between these two & capture some of that love into photos him & his family can cherish.  It was great to meet you both! [tg_masonry_gallery gallery_id="9213" layout="wide" columns="4"]

welcome 1 month old baby girl | coral springs newborn photographer

Beautiful miss Alesandra was just 4 weeks old when I met her & of course her proud new parents were excited to show her off. We had a relaxed Sunday morning session at their home, which allowed us to integrate some personal items & show off some of the baby's nursery which was AMAZING.  All the details worked together so perfectly, including the most adorable little lace onesie.  Admittedly, my baby-fever was super strong for this newborn session... I mean look at those perfect little lips & all that new-parent love & adoration!  It was so great to meet you all.  Welcome to world, Alesandra! [tg_grid_gallery gallery_id="9094" layout="wide" columns="4"]

real life with the g's | family photojournalism

Knowing that tomorrow is never promised... what do you want to remember the most?Maybe its how your family cuddles into your favorite spot on the couch... or how happy your kids get when you take a trip to the local ice cream parlor.  Maybe you always want to remember how your daughter once used anything she could to play dress up... or how your son used to turn any piece of furniture into a fort... Whatever it is, I have to guess that your favorite memories do not include the painful hour of bribing your perfectly-groomed children for forced smiles in an unfamiliar park.  So why are those the photos we tend to hang on our walls & share with our family?Meet The G's - Grant & Grace.  I got to spend 2 awesome days with them hanging at home, going for ice cream, watching Harry Potter in the park & taking a trip down the street to Wekiwa Springs.  Thanks to my Dicapac case for my Fuji camera, I was even able to jump in the water with them & still never stop shooting.  The result was over a hundred photos that will forever serve as uncensored memories of The G's story at that moment.

Click here to find out more about my documentary family sessions.

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